by TheDude » Tue 27 May 2008, 13:41:11
Bloomberg
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')y Torrey Clark and Ellen Pinchuk
May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's oil production may rise to 12 million barrels a day after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's government eases taxes, billionaire Chalva Tchigirinski said.
``Only Putin could do it,'' Tchigirinski, an owner of London- listed Sibir Energy Plc, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``He's now in a position to take decisions that are bureaucratically long, painful and undoable in Russia.''
Putin yesterday approved a tax-cut plan to stimulate oil production that may be sent to lawmakers this week. Oil output in Russia, the world's biggest exporter after Saudi Arabia, fell to 9.72 million barrels a day in April, its lowest level in 18 months, as costs rose to develop aging fields and to pursue new projects in increasingly remote areas.
``Russia has tremendous oil reserves and if the government will behave on the tax side there's room to increase production,'' Tchigirinski, speaking in English, said today in Moscow. ``The government understands what's in the interest of the industry now and this industry is vital.''
More on the tax breaks:
RussiaToday : Business : Russian oil companies to get tax holidays$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Russian government has approved tax cuts of $US 4 billion for oil companies from 2009. The reduction of the mineral extraction tax, a key reform for the country’s oil companies, is believed to be the first step towards reviving production growth in the industry.
The state collects more than 90 % of oil company profits through corporate and production taxes, including export duties of 65 % on oil sold at more than $US 25 a barrel.
That's been great news for Russia's reserves and its economic stability, but bad news for production growth, which has dwindled to almost nothing in the last few years.
Analysts say the high taxes have been hampering companies from taking on new challenges.
Chirvani Abdoullaev, a senior analyst from Alfa-bank, said: “They were shifting their investments to the easy pickings and leaving behind a lot of oil that is harder to extract, which requires more investment, more technology.”